Page 14 of Sold to the Dark Vampire Prince

Ava snorted. “Not everyone has Evan’s vast ring of troublemakers to call on.”

Evan pointed a finger at her. “And don’t you forget it.”

Dani’s phone buzzed. She nearly dropped it when she read the text.

This is Zander. Did you get home okay?

With shaking fingers, she entered him into her contacts and typed out a response.

Dani: How did you get this number?

Zander: From your file at the aid office.

“Who is it?” Not bothering to wait for a response, Evan peered over her shoulder before Dani could yank the phone to her chest. Her expression instantly darkened. “Why is he texting you?”

“He just wanted to make sure I got home okay,” she shot back, knowing her tone sounded much too defensive.

Evan scoffed. “I see. And your vampire lawyer texts all the clients he helps out at the aid center just to make sure they got home okay?”

“Do we have to talk about this right now?” she shot a pointed look at Ava.

She turned to stare at the fire, feeling heat creep up her neck despite the cold in the room. Worse than that was the silence that followed, her sister’s far too shrewd eyes taking in every detail from her sudden nervousness to the way her hands had started to shake. Evan was a master at reading people. For once, Dani wished she would let something drop, that she didn’t have to shake everything to death until it turned into a terrible fight.

“Zander,” she said slowly. “This is the vampire you sometimes talk about in your sleep.”

“I don’t.” Dani felt her cheeks burn scarlet. She quickly lowered her voice when Evan flitted her eyes to where Ava was watching them with rapt attention. “I don’t talk about him. He’s been helping me. Helping us. That’s all.”

“But he is the one you’ve been bringing books to.”

“Don’t make this into something it isn’t. He’s a contact. You work contacts all the time. This is no different. I do what I have to in order to get us what we need. Nothing more.”

They glared back at one another. Finally, Evan held up both hands.

“Okay. Clearly, I’m off base.”

“Yes, you are.”

“I just think you should be careful.” She wrapped up the knife. “I’ll be back in a little while.”

After her footsteps retreated down the stairs and Ava fell into a fitful sleep, Dani found herself unable to settle. Zander would find a way to push their appeal through, but that could take months, time Ava didn’t have. With her picture being flashed across the news feeds, she couldn’t go out onto the streets to look for marks without running the risk she would bring the police to their door.

What she needed was time. A few more months. Another year where they didn’t have to worry Ava would run out of insulin. Not forever. Just long enough to get the health insurance approved.

Her phone buzzed again.

Zander: You kind of went quiet there.

Quickly, she typed back.

Dani: Sorry, it’s been a long night. And thank you, I’m home now.

Briefly, she wondered if the person who’d fought off her attacker could have been Zander. But that was impossible. He would have revealed himself to her, wouldn’t he? And what would Zander Hunt have been doing with a dagger bearing the royal crest?

Rising, she went over to the closet where her mother’s things hung. Pulling out one of the garment bags, she removed a long, red silk dress and held it up before the mirror.

Was she really considering this?

Her fingers trembled at the edge of the bodice as she thought of what she was about to do. But then she caught sight of Ava, bundled in worn quilts in their cold apartment, and knew there was no choice.